MAILBAG: Is COVID or the flu MORE dangerous?

By Dr. Scott Olson, ND Posted February 21, 2023

“What’s more dangerous, the flu or COVID?”

-Anette from Tallahassee, Florida

Hi Anette,

This is the million-dollar question right now, isn’t it?

Let’s start with COVID:

We don’t actually know how deadly COVID is because of vaccinations and the mask mandates that most people followed. Fortunately, we successfully dodged a lot of deaths because of these measures.

But COVID is the unwanted “gift” that keeps on giving. These infections are associated with a risk for additional health issues after having recovered from the disease.

These ongoing health complaints are now referred to as “post-COVID syndrome.” They typically pop up within three months of having an infection. And the problems include new cases of heart disease, diabetes, and brain problems, for example.

You see, research has revealed that COVID can essentially speed up the aging process. Which means a growing number of people are developing diseases after having COVID that they typically would only have been at risk for LATER in life.

Currently, about 400 to 500 people are still dying from COVID daily. That’s the number we’d expect to die during the HEIGHT of a typical flu season. But this elevated number of deaths has been happening EVERY DAY for the last year or so.

If you’re like most people, you’ve had some friends who got COVID and barely noticed it, others who had heavy cases or were hospitalized, and perhaps even some who didn’t survive the disease.

There are several reasons for this range of reactions.

• It starts with how healthy a person is, to begin with.
• Then there’s what doctors and scientists call viral load. It refers to how much of the virus a person is exposed to. Masks can reduce viral load, as can social distancing, whether or not the exposure happened in a room with an open window, etc.
• And even a person’s genetic makeup can play a role. For reasons we still don’t fully understand, the same virus in two different people can behave dramatically differently.

Then there’s the flu:

We expect roughly between 20,000 and 50,000 people to die from the flu in the United States alone every year. Most of these deaths happen in the three- to four-month period we call “the flu season.”

There are fewer deaths in some years and more in others. Sometimes MUCH more. Take the Spanish flu in 1918, for example. It was responsible for an estimated 50 million deaths worldwide.

Now that we know about post-COVID syndrome, I expect we will soon start hearing about post-flu syndrome as well. The linked health problems will probably turn out to be similar, with jumps in cases of heart disease, diabetes, brain issues, fatigue, etc.

So which infection is MORE dangerous? Well, as you can see, that’s STILL a tricky question to answer.

My thoughts might change as we learn more about the long-term effects of viruses like these. But for now, I’d say COVID and the flu are equally dangerous.

And the bottom line is you should do your best to AVOID BOTH.

P.S. Researchers say losing your ability to DO THIS is a red flag for the brain inflammation associated with post-COVID syndrome. Don’t miss this warning sign. CLICK HERE for all the details.

Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND

Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.

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